Nutmeg Nightmare
by JustAnotherFallen
Summary: A series of symbolic murders appears in Connecticut. The truth behind the murders could lead to more than the team thought. rating dropped Finished
1. The Three Fates

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. I'm just slightly obsessed. As in watching it religiously. That's about it.**

* * *

"_The guns and bombs, the rockets and the warships, are all symbols of human failure."_

_-Lyndon B. Johnson_

J.J. passed sheets around on the plane. "Milford, Connecticut. Three girls killed in the last month. All we found on their school grounds in early morning hours. The Academy of Our Lady of Sorrows is an all girl private catholic school. They instated a security guard for the grounds after the Amish killing at the beginning of the year."

Morgan tapped three pictures on the table. "All of them were found this way?"

J.J. nodded. "All three were found lying on their backs with their eyes shut. That's where the immediate similarities end."

Gideon put on his glassed holding up a glossy crime scene photograph. "Janice Pickenson age seventeen. The first victim. She was found wrapped in gauze." He traced the picture. "The gauze covered her torso and legs but left her midsection bare, with the exception of a tattoo set post-mortum."

Reid raised a finger. "It's an ankh, Egyptian symbol. It was carved on the sarcophagi of the pharaohs. It represented immortality and the royal line. It also had a large significance to the afterlife. Many times, it was depicted next to the lips. It was said the ankh would give the first breath of life as an immortal."

"Elizabeta Collins also age seventeen." Hotch pointed to the second picture. "She was found about ten yards from the first body three days later."

Reid leaned over the picture. "The clothes are like the last picture except this isn't gauze, looks almost like silk."

Emily ran through her paper and nodded. "Green silk and it looks like there's another tattoo." She maneuvered in front of Reid inspecting the picture. "It's a claddagh. Celtic symbol."

Morgan picked up the last picture. "Samantha Vasquez. Another seventeen year old. Wrapped in white cotton." He looked at the tattoo and shrugged handing it off to Reid. "Genius time Reid."

Reid looked over the picture searching his mind for an answer. "It's called a Duafe. It's an Adinkra symbol. Unless I'm mistaken, it stands for everlasting love. It's a feminine symbol that I remember."

Morgan gave a sigh looking at his hand out. "These were administered post-mortum and they're detailed. He must have had them for a while, what do school records say?"

J.J. gave a sigh. "They said they'd prefer to talk to us in person. Thought we might get a better idea of the school and the students if we visited."

Emily looked up surprised. "The school is still open? They haven't shut it?"

Gideon had a finger under his nose looking thoughtful. "Are they covering it up or is this an extreme prep school."

J.J. ran a hand through her hair. "It's a bit of both, but mostly a personal decision. The families of the girls don't want wide publicity; right now, they want it kept quiet, as does the school. When they have someone in custody…" She let her words trail for a moment before shaking her head. "All hell will break loose and they'll be the sympathized grieving parents."

Hotch leaned forward studying the pictures. "They don't want their children seen as murdered because that would mean they would have to accept all the protection they gave didn't help."

"That or they don't want their good names ruined." Everyone looked at Emily with some surprise. "I went to private schools growing up. Many rich political families or just rich families did not want their names in the paper unless they could control the press. One girl's parents actually threatened to sue the school because they put a picture of her in the school paper without their consent. It was at a dance and she was with a boy who had gotten into a bit of trouble a month before. They don't want to be connected with anything that could sully their good names."

Morgan stretched his arms. "We're touching down in a few minutes, this should be good."

* * *

After touching down, they drove to the grounds of the school. A security guard had stopped them and nodded them through when badges had been shown. Of course, the badges could have been fake and they still would have been let through. The man looked like he had retired a few years before and was just looking for some extra money for casino trips.

The school was massive and exquisite. It had originally been a mansion owned by the Taylor family. When Old Man Taylor's wife and daughter died, he sold it to the Sisters of Sorrow. The sisters turned it into a boarding school for the young orphans of Milford. Soon it became open to many girls in the area and it stayed a boarding school up until the mid sixties. The grounds included a soccer field as well as a softball field. Toward the front, there was a group of willow trees, which swayed delicately in the morning breeze. All in all it was a scenic school and from what they had heard that was only a small benefit. All girls that graduated went off to college and ended up with secure jobs. Some even came back to teach in later years.

It was only seven in the morning when they arrived at school. The school day officially began at eight forty-five but girls would start coming into school soon. After a brief introduction with the school's principle and president Hotch, Gideon and J.J. were asked to stay behind for further detail while the others set up in the computer labs.

As they descended marble stairs to get to the basement, they met two girls. Both were wearing grey sweatshirts, which proclaimed 'SENIORS' on the back in a royal blue. Their navy jumpers peaked out from the bottom of the oversized sweatshirts. The girls both had long black hair, which they had held up by massive clips. The one to the left had fair skin and bright blue eyes. She hair an air of intelligence around her and was smiling at her friend. Her friend was slightly darker in the face but not by much. Her eyes were a bold green and were highlighted by black eyeliner making them stand out even more. She was straightening the rings she wore; it seemed she wore one on every finger. They were speaking in a language the group did not immediately recognize. The girls stopped when they noticed the team standing before them.

The girl to the left nodded to them. "I'll take a wild guess and say you're with the FBI."

Reid nodded. "Yes. We came to help with the investigation." He looked up and down the hall before looking back at the girls. "Can you help us find the computer labs; I think the principle's directions were a bit unclear."

The girl to the right smiled in an understanding way. "No problem, we're headed there right now. Easiest way to get to the lab is through the catacombs over here." She followed her friend who was leading the way. "Are you with the BAU? That's probably a silly question, who else would you be?" She looked at Reid curiously. "You look familiar, I just can't place you."

Morgan laughed. "You know, it's not usually for people to ask us all the questions."

The first girl looked over her shoulder. "Yeah, that would be Luci, she just never stops talking."

The second girl glared at her friend. "Thanks Marena. Nice to know you're always on my side." She turned to the team with an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry, I don't mean to ramble. Bad habit. We'll just get you to the lab."

Emily followed the girls up another set of stairs. "Big school. So I'm surprised you know about the BAU, not many people your age would."

Marena spoke before Luci. "Luci's big when it comes to random information. That and she's obsessed with the whole profiling process."

Morgan smiled at Luci. "Good to know there is an interest in what we do. By the way I'm Agent Morgan, this is Agent Prentiss, and this is Dr. Reid."

Marena smiled. "Marena Dembroksi and that's Lucille Kowalczyk."

Luci's eyes widened. "Dr. Spencer Reid?" Her face was a bit flushed. "Now I feel very stupid for not recognizing you. I attended the lecture you made last month at UNH. It was fascinating. I'm glad you found the time to visit and speak." She sounded polite as if she was a guest thanking the hostess for being invited to a party.

Reid was taken aback. "Thank you. I hadn't realized exactly how many people would be there. I extremely nervous, I hope it didn't show too much."

Morgan was looking down smiling and shaking his head. It was a rare sight for Reid to get flustered when speaking about what he did. He looked back up at the girls thinking maybe there would be enjoyable moments in this investigation. It was a terrible thing to wish for but sometimes you just needed something to break away from the gruesome reality they dealt with everyday. "Think we could steal you two for away for a bit? We just want to get some inside information on the school from a student's perspective. Get to know what a lot of the girls are like."

Luci and Marena looked at each other. Luci held as door open to let them up another set of stairs. "We may not be exactly like the other girls but we hear things they don't even realize. It's not that we aren't liked, because as conceited as it is to say people do really like us. However, sometimes the two of us can get a bit carried away with certain discussion and the other girls, well they don't exactly see us on their level."

Marena nodded stepping aside to let Emily unlock the door to the labs with the key the principle had given her. "Well people are a bit more open with Luci than with me. I'm in mostly honors classed and one A.P. Luci's CP 1 and honors. They see here on more of a normal girl level. Until she opens her mouth." She turned her eyes to Morgan and Reid. They noticed there was a lot more wisdom behind those eyes than they had seen at first. Her eyes looked older as if she had seen things she'd like to forget. "We know more things than you would think high school students would. That's not meant to sound cocky or cliché. There is a huge difference between book smarts and intelligence. We pick up things no one else sees, almost like what you do. We remember things no one else would waste a second to remember."

Luci flipped on the light switches in the lab and crossed her arms. "We are not trying to butt our way into your investigation thinking we're super detectives. We're merely saying that we know what is going on. What we know is that whoever is doing this won't stop just because the FBI is in on it. Contrary to what you might hear, those girls were not the kind to walk off with someone just to annoy their parents. We do not have any loyalties to the school or the girls. Their no point in lying for either side. If you want to ask us something, we're here. We don't want to see people killed who haven't done something serious."

Marena nodded. "If you need anything we'll be down these stairs. No one comes up here unless it's for a class. We use that hallway to wait for the library to open and just to sit and talk." She gave a smile. "And we can't hear anything as long as you keep the door shut."

The girls went down the stairs and Morgan shut the door to the computer lab behind him. The room was large and two rows of computers lined the walls. At the end of the room, a large table and chairs had been set up as well as a conference phone and sheet of numbers. "Shit."

Emily and Reid both turned to him in surprise. "What's wrong?"

Morgan smiled. "It's like meeting two female versions of Reid."

Emily shook her head. "They may seem like they know what they're talking about but I doubt they do."

Reid was thoughtfully looking out the small window on the door letting his co-workers discuss the girls and the case. He had a strange feeling this case was going to be more than they expected. And they always expected the worse. He tapped his thumbs on the side of his pants. Maybe it wouldn't be as horrific as some of their other cases but there was something different about this case. Some twist that he knew would make this a great deal more difficult than usual.

* * *

**A/N: So…reviews are welcomed.**

**Let me know what you think so far.**


	2. The Reign of Symbols

**Disclaimer: I own nada. Well that's a lie. I own a laptop and some movies. Nevertheless, I do not own Criminal Minds. If I did…well lets say I would not be writing fan fiction.**

* * *

"Why me?" Reid looked at Gideon in surprise.

"It's not just you; J.J. will be sitting in on some classes too. You both are younger and are less intimidating than the rest of us. I decided to give Emily the third girl's classes to look over." Gideon held back a smile watching his younger co-worker squirm. "Morgan told me you already met two of the girls here. I checked records and you have a few classes with them."

Reid pinched the bridge of his nose. "I went to a Las Vegas public school. I graduated when I was twelve, I didn't fit in the first time around." He sighed. "All I have to do is observe correct?"

"Let the girls do the school work. All you have to do is learn more about them."

* * *

Reid looked at his sheet looking at his first class.

"Need some help?"

He looked up to see one of the girls from yesterday, Luci, smiling at him. "Uh, yes, I'm looking for the Latin room."

She checked his paper and nodded. "Elizabeta was in my class. It's the next door here. I know there's only a few of us but don't be nervous."

"I'm not nervous."

Luci gave him a look. "Whatever you say."

He followed her into the room. The teacher behind the desk nodded to him. She was a pleasant looking older woman who was round and seemed to fit the profile of a Latin teacher. There were four other girls, besides Luci, in the class. They gave Reid a quick look then turned back to their conversations. Maybe he wouldn't have a reason to be nervous after all.

Reid walked forward and introduced himself to the teacher, Mrs. Patterson. "Please don't mind me just go along with your regular lesson. Try to pretend I'm not here."

Mrs. Patterson gave him a humorous smile. "Feel free to participate Dr. Reid. This is our whole class, things can get slow sometimes."

"Isn't it unusual to have such a small class?"

A girl in the front row laughed. "We're the only Latin honors there are. Everyone else went off to AP or dropped language arts."

Reid took a seat next to Luci in the next row. She gave him an encouraging smile and took out her Latin book. Reid looked around the room watching the girls begin to translate a section of Cupid and Psyche. The girls didn't seem that interested but proceeded on with a small groan when they heard about the quiz tomorrow. The bell rang and the girls packed up saying goodbye to Mrs. Patterson.

Luci was waiting for him outside the door. "I don't know Elizabeta's schedule but I know she was in my double today."

"World Religions?"

Luci sighed. "Yes, that would be the class. Marena will be in that class, and I'm guessing another associate of yours as well. All three of them were in the class with us. Just a warning our teacher-"

"Father King?"

"Yeah. He is slightly…eccentric. I cannot think of any other word to describe him. You'll understand when you meet him." She looked at his sheet. "You have Pre-Cal now." She turned around. "Head up this staircase and it's the third door on your right. Marena is in your class so if you see her in the class you're in the right room." She looked back at his sheet. "You can follow her to third period. We had AVE with Elizabeta and Samantha." She smiled and waved a goodbye.

Reid followed the stairs thinking it was going to be a very long day. All he had learned so far was Elizabeta had taken Latin and had the third highest grade in the class. She was an overall average student. Basic student, pretty face and ran track. Nothing that screamed kidnap victim. Reid sighed entering the next classroom. Fifteen heads turned to stare at him while another teacher walked over to greet him. He smiled in relief recognizing J.J. in the back of the room. He took a seat next to her hoping to compare notes.

* * *

J.J. smiled at Reid. He kept tabbing the edge of his desk with this thumb. It was obvious he was nervous. Whether it was because he was in a crowed room, in which teenage girls kept turning to look at him or possibly, because he was back in high school, she was not sure. J.J. looked around at the girls. One in the front had smiled at Reid and he sheepishly nodded. That must have been one of the girls she had heard Morgan teasing him about, the 'Reidetts'. The girl was talking to a pretty redhead next to her. The redhead looked close to tears and was tapping her fingers on her desk looking as though she would like nothing better than to bolt from the room. The bell rang and the room seemed to jump to life. Girls fled the room while the redhead and her friend turned to J.J. and Reid.

The darker hair girl nodded. "Dr. Reid, nice to see you again." She smiled to J.J.

J.J. smiled. "I'm Agent Jareau; you can call me J.J. if you like."

The redhead looked thoughtful. "You were here when that DA's daughter was kidnapped. You did the press coverage."

J.J. was slightly taken aback. "Yes I was. Can you show us to the choir room?"

The redhead smiled. "Sure, I'm Christine by the way. I think you already know Reners."

The dark hair girl cringed. "Please don't call me that."

J.J. nudged Reid as they followed the talking girls. "What's wrong Spence?"

He smiled at her. "It's been a long time since I've been in a high school. I'm not sure which experience is worse." He seemed to think about that for a second. "Did you like high school J.J.?"

She walked through the door he was holding open for her. "High school wasn't too bad. I did few sports and I got through. I grew up in a small town; there wasn't much else besides doing school activities. I got through it, I don't know if I have any real feelings. I liked college a lot better, it was a fresh start."

She stopped as Hotch appeared before her. "Reid, J.J. you're coming with us. Don't worry about this class, it's just singing. We've got Garcia on the line right now with some information."

The three backtracked to the computer lab. Garcia's face appeared on a computer screen popping gum. "So how are things in the Nutmeg state?"

Morgan smiled at her. "We found two female versions of Reid."

Garcia wiggled her eyebrows. "Oh la la, isn't that interesting? Anyway, is there anything in particular you want about these girls? Truthfully sweeties there's not a lot."

"Just tell us all you can," Gideon said. "Starting with Janice Pickenson."

There was a sound of keys tapping and Garcia spoke. "Okay. Janice Pickenson, born July 17, 1989 in Milford, Connecticut. Parents are Heath and Geraldine Pickenson. What kind of name is Geraldine? Anyway, she is the youngest of three. All girls and all of them went to Our Lady of Sorrows. She did indoor track and won in a few meets. Her picture showed up in a few papers for performing in a youth orchestra, she played the viola. Nothing else I see comes up besides a passport. These are still kids, nothing big."

Emily leaned forward. "What about the family?"

There was more tapping. "They own and manage Pickenson Retail. They take part in selling property all over the northeast." She let out a whistle. "They make a pretty penny at it too." More clicking. "Other than that, I've got nothing."

Hotch moved in his chair. "What about Elizabeta Collins?"

"Born March 17, 1989 in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Parents are Dorian and Katrina Collins. Katrina was a cellist in the Boston Pops but left when Elizabeta was born. Husband Dorian is another cellist and still plays with the Pops. Impressive, I'm a bit jealous of these families. Let's see, they live quite securely don't have any financial problems. Elizabeta was part of the advanced vocal ensemble at the school, which is going to the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, Virginia this May. Very impressive.

And onto your last girl, Miss Samantha Vasquez. Born April 3, 1989 in Brooklyn, New York. Parents are Natasha and Hayden Vasquez. Mr. Vasquez died when Samantha was two." She let out a slow breath. "Shit."

Hotch looked up. "What's wrong?"

Garcia shook her head a sympathetic look on her face. "Hayden Vasquez died in a drive by shooting which led to Mrs. Vasquez and her children moving in with relatives in Danbury, Connecticut. Mrs. Vasquez, Samantha, and Samantha's older brother Brian were home celebrating Brian's third birthday." Garcia tapped louder. "Nothing else is popping up. Financially stable and no other terrible things are popping up. She was also apart of the choir thing."

Morgan nodded. "Thanks Garcia we'll let you know if we need anything else."

Garcia winked at him. "Behave yourself around those schoolgirls. They know how to have a good time."

* * *

Reid and J.J. walked together through a small hallway where a group of girls was waiting for the classroom door to open. Reid spotted Marena, Luci and Christine talking together rapidly in the language he didn't recognize. They immediately stopped when they saw the agents.

J.J. looked at them in question. "You speak Russian?"

Marena gave a laugh shaking her head. "Close, Polish."

Christine crossed her arms. "Yeah it's great getting confused listening to these two."

Luci patted her friend's arm. "Hey you're getting there. Marena and I are fluent because we have no social lives." She saw the glare from her friend. "Okay, sorry. I have no social life."

Marena looked back at the agents. "So learn anything interesting yet?"

J.J. laughed. "I don't remember high school being this difficult."

Luci looked over the group of girls toward the door. "Father K's here. Let the fun begin."

The girls filed in the door with Reid and J.J. quick at their heels. A large older man sat at the desk watching as the two agents walked through the doors. He has wild blue eyes and blonde hair that was thinning but lay tousled around his head.

He stood turning toward them, a clerical collar peeking from beneath his sweater. "Agents. If you would introduce yourselves to the class and take a seat."

Reid stood beside J.J. shifting his feet. He didn't like introductions. Especially high school ones. It was like being the nine-year-old freshman new to the school and introduced to the class.

J.J. took it in stride. He admired her for what she did. He for one could never do any kind of communications and she handled being a liaison so smoothly he couldn't imagine anyone else in her position. Her looks may also have been an advantage. Natural blonde hair, crystal blue eyes, and a face that always looked sincere. He looked down when she caught him looking at her. He quickly introduced himself and followed J.J. to the back of the room. This room had been part of the mansion, possibly a sitting room seeing as there was a large window seat that easily fit both J.J. and himself.

Marena and Christine were pulling off Luci's rings trying them on. J.J. nudged him nodding toward the rings the girls wore. The rings all had various symbols on them. Reid's eyes zeroed on two rings in particular, an ankh and a claddagh.

Before Reid could open his mouth, the voice of Father K filled the room. "Ears, Eyes and Mouth, get up here and start your presentation."

Small bits of laughter came around the room as Christine, Marena and Luci rolled their eyes and walked to the front of the room.

They set up a PowerPoint presentation and J.J. let out a soft gasp. In liquid lettering, 'The Reign of Symbols' appeared on the board.

J.J. and Reid sat mystified as the girls went through slides and slides of symbols with pictures and one or two lines of explanation. Yet when it came to background information, they gave it out as if it were second nature. J.J. had caught Reid mumbling in agreement to some of the symbols but even he looked impressed on how much they knew.

The last slide was up and Luci stood to present it. "Many of you I'm sure recognize this symbol. It's called a claddagh. It's an old Celtic symbol, not ancient but it has been around for a few centuries now."

The bell rang before she could say anything else. The room sprang up from its calm state to pack up for lunch. Reid and J.J. shared a knowing look quickly following the three out the door.

J.J. threaded her way through the hallway stopping in front of the girls. "Wait for a moment, please. How do you know so much about those symbols?"

Christine looked confused. "What do you mean?"

Reid motioned them to keep walking toward the computer lab where the rest of the team was set up. "You know a lot about those symbols."

Luci nodded with a small smile. "Besides research for the project, we have a background. I wouldn't call us experts but some people might."

Marena nodded. "We won a few awards doing symbol research." She gave a laugh. "We're the top three placers in the nationwide occult and symbolism contest. Have been for the past couple of years. It's common knowledge. Why?"

J.J. looked at Reid and back at the girls. "Maybe we could borrow your expertise."

* * *

Reid led the four females into the computer labs, which fell silent as they entered. It was obvious from the abrupt silence they had been talking about something confidential and were surprised at the sudden disturbance.

Garcia's face was on the computer. Her eyes widened looking at the girls. "Hey. I know you."

Hotch looked at Garcia in confusion. "You're kidding me."

Garcia shook her head. "You were looking for symbol experts." She tapped in a few keys brining up at picture of the three girls holding trophies. She looked out at the girls in front of her. "These are the top symbol experts in the country."

Morgan looked at Garcia sternly. "We're not looking for the teen award winners."

Marena stood straighter. "We're not teen winners. We beat out everyone. Just because we're young doesn't mean we don't understand what we do."

Christine nodded standing next to her friend. "We each compete with each other but we all have our own certain parts of expertise. Just like you."

Luci looked to her friends who nodded. She turned back to the room. "Each of you has their own special presence. Agent Gideon is a father figure who you look to for wisdom and the last word, even if Agent Hotchner is your superior. Agent Hotchner looks to make sure everyone makes it through every case. He loves what he does and hopes to make it further. Agent Morgan, you believe in feeling out everything. You won't take someone's word unless you can believe it yourself. I'm guessing you feel out crime scenes to get a better understanding of how to get into the criminal's head. Agent Prentiss you're new to this group. You're still feeling your way around." She turned to J.J. and Reid. "Dr. Reid. You're young and you know more than the average person knows. Double that with your expertise in profiling and you are a criminal's worst nightmare. You take comfort in knowing you have the respect of your co-workers but still appreciate having Agent Jareau around. She's the voice of reason and is closer to your age so she isn't as intimidating as some others are. Of course, this can make her more intimidating at times. Agent Jareau, you take pride in your work. You've done all you could to prove to the ones back home you were more than a pretty face." She smiled at the people in the room who were looking at her with a mix of awe and complete confusion.

Christine rolled her eyes. "Only a bit dramatic this time Luci."

Garcia gave a low whistle from her position on the screen. "I don't know about you guys but I'm impressed."

Hotch stood looking at the three girls. "The three most experienced people in the field of symbolism are standing in front of me, and they're still in high school." His eyes flicked to Reid with a small smile. "Why am I having a flashback?"

Gideon had walked forward shaking the girl's hands. He took Luci's last then paused looking at her rings. "Tell us what you know about the claddagh."

Luci nodded taking a ring off the pinkie of her right hand. It was an intricate claddagh, decorated with Celtic knots all around the band. "Legend has it that an Irish young man, was fishing out in then sea when he, as well as many others, was kidnapped by a band of Mediterranean pirates. He was sold to a Moorish goldsmith and over the years, the goldsmith taught the young man to be an expert craftsman.

"In the late 17th century King William III negotiated the return of the his people. The Moor offered his daughter's hand in marriage and a princely dowry of half of all his wealth to the young man, who he had taken an immense liking to. However the young man turned him down. You see home a he had a young woman who had been faithfully waiting for him.

"When he returned he promptly asked her to marry him and presented her with what we now known as the royal claddagh ring. It was a symbol of their enduring love. They soon married, never to be separated again. As most of the Celtic symbols do, this ring had three important elements. The first, two hands to represent their friendship. Between the two hands the next element is the heart, to symbolize their eternal love for each other." She traced the ring to the top. "Last but not least the crown above the heart stands for unquestionable loyalty and fidelity. Without the loyalty of the young woman's love he would have come home to nothing more than a memory of the girl he had left behind."

Morgan frowned looking at a picture. "What would this mean?" He slid the picture over to the girls.

They bent over it staring at the abdomen of the Collins' girl's stomach. Christine took in a short breath and closed her eyes. The other two looked at each other solemnly.

Marena spoke first. "No one that took this much time to draw this would have forgotten the crown. This was done on purpose."

Christine came forward a bit paler than before. "There are some stories that the ring would show the truth. When your lover was unfaithful, the crown would become loose and fall off. Of course, this might have been justified seeing as the crown was the thinnest part of the ring. Nevertheless, she is right. If someone took this much time to draw the symbol, they knew all that it stood for. The missing crown was on purpose."

Emily looked around her. "So the UNSUB saw her as unfaithful, but he still loved her. The hands show that they were friends or that he just believed himself as her friend."

The girls looked over the other photos Hotch had lain out for them. Marena shook her head. "This doesn't make sense." She was pointing to each of the pictures. "The duafe symbolizes a never ending love as well as feminine virtue."

Gideon shook his head. "None of these girls were raped so that would stand for being true."

Emily pursed her lips. "I didn't know we discussed open cases with civilians.

Hotch gave her a look that seemed to pour out authority. "These ladies are experts in their field. Despite their age, they are the best and they are willing to help us. I don't see a problem with it, so neither should you."

Christine looked at Marena. "Why doesn't it make sense?"

Marena pointed to the ankh. "This is the odd one out."

Luci swore under her breath. "No it's not." She looked at the team before her. "You have a bigger problem then you thought. This guy, and it is a guy, is taking revenge. The claddagh minus the crown shows a love that had lost its loyalty. The duafe also shows an everlasting love but also feminine virtue. The ankh symbolizes the royal line and immortality. It brought the first breath of life to those who cross over. But it also was one of the first crosses and if you slightly make the oval a circle," she drew the symbol in the air, "you get what is now the sign of Venus." She chewed the inside of her cheek. "This guy is a stalker; he watches them from far off."

Marena caught on. "Sees them with their boyfriends."

Next to her, Christine eyes widened. "He thinks they were cheating on him."

Luci looked at the agents looking older than she should have. "He thinks he's saving their virtues by killing them. He's killing them to save them for himself. Either they overlooked him at one point or he never showed himself believing they should have just been able to feel his presence. Whichever it is he's getting back at them for not being with him."

Morgan shook his head. "Shit."

Gideon removed his glasses. "If he can't have these girls no one can." He nodded to J.J. "Call the department. We have a profile."

* * *

**A/N: Well what fun is there unless you have some know-it-alls?**

**Thanks to my first reviewer:**

**Recklesskellie: thanks for the review and hope you like what I'm doing with the rest of this.**


	3. The Profile

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…at all.**

**But I'll never smoke Weed with Willie Again. Or listen to country at 3 a.m. when I haven't gotten a good amount of sleep.**

**No, I do not own those lyrics either. Jeeze.**

* * *

Gideon looked around the room. They had left to go to the Milford Police Department leaving the girls at school. They had been more useful than he could have thought. Than again, he shouldn't underestimate anyone. He still remembered being extremely skeptical before he met Reid. Now look how that had turned out.

He had already figured those girls out. Marena and Luci were the enforcers. Marena was the leader figure. She had old looking eyes making it clear she knew a lot more than she let on. Luci was second in command. Like Marena, she had a look in her eyes but hers was more tired. As if, she had seen more than she wanted but she took it all upon her. Both girls were extremely protective of Christine. Christine was their last bit of innocence left. She was bubbly and more outgoing than the other two. Gideon could almost picture them in class. The first two girls in the back of the room taking everything in while Christine laughed and conversed with anyone who'd talk to her.

Gideon had decided these girls could be trusted. The school may not have been in full cooperation because they didn't want anything leaked but the girls did not have any qualms about answering questions. While the girls were explaining the symbols, he had had Garcia search deeper to make sure they were legitimate in their theories. Everything had come up fine. They had even spoken at a conference at a police convention last year. To disprove and enlighten some forces on what were real cult symbols and what were red herrings.

Gideon nodded to Hotch who now stood before the crowd of police and detectives. Hotch looked around and cleared his throat. "Our UNSUB is smarter than we originally believed. He does intense research on the symbols he uses. He is a white male, his age ranges between his late teens to early twenties. He blends in his surroundings so he will not be seen as out of place."

Reid moved forward from the desk he had been leaning against. "He saw these girls in a fantasy like view. They were virtuous and innocent just as he wanted. On the other hand they had boyfriends and our UNSUB saw these boyfriends as a threat to their innocence."

An officer spoke up from the middle of the crowd. "So why didn't he just kill the boyfriends?"

Gideon shook his head from his chair. "The boyfriends weren't the only problem. He saw the girls letting themselves become 'corrupted'. His only way to save them was to take them. By taking them, they were his. He killed them for one of two reasons. They either outright refused him and he then saw them as whores or he could have killed them to save them."

Emily spoke up. "By killing them he could save their innocent and ensure they would be grateful to him once he died and would fall for his charms and see him as their hero."

A female detective in the front looked at the agents. "So are we looking for an ex-boyfriend? I mean is there an obvious connection to them we missed?"

Morgan shook his head. "No. The UNSUB wouldn't have entered their life and left without a fight. Even if they had restraining orders, it wouldn't be that person. No, you're looking for someone not immediately connected with these girls. He'll be a regular member of society most likely. Seems like a nice guy, maybe a little shy around women but confident most other things. He is greatly interested in symbols so we can assume he has problems expressing himself. What we do know is he will wear some kind of a symbol on his person. We do not know for sure, if it will be one of the symbols he used or not, but there will me a subtle sign. Any other questions?"

The crowd shook their heads and closed their notebooks leaving.

Emily looked around at the rest of the team. "What now?"

"Splitting time." Hotch sighed suddenly looking older. "Time to visit the families."

* * *

**A/N:**

**This is a preview for what will be in the next chapter. Pretty much meeting the families.**

**Now on to the reason on why this chapter is so very short.**

**Tell me whether you like or not. I see how many hits this story gets. I can see you like it. Just review. It takes about 5 seconds. Like it or not take the 5 seconds.**

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	4. The Families

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. If I did, I would be a hell of a lot smarter. And would have money on me.**

* * *

Gideon and Hotch went to the Pickenson's house. Although house may have been an understatement. They sat in the living room, which was twice what most families had. A picture of the three Pickenson girls lay on the fireplace mantle. The girls looked only a year or two apart each. All had blonde hair at shoulder length. The younger two had cornflower blue eyes while the eldest had rich hazel eyes. They were posed around the family piano all smiling and leaning together.

Mr. and Mrs. Pickenson sat together on the couch facing the two agents. They had invited the agents in before quickly shutting the door, as if embarrassed FBI agents were visiting.

Hotch leaned slightly forward on his straight back chair. Like the rest of the house, it was elegantly put together. Although lovely, it was not something you wanted to sit on for a long period of time. "We're very sorry to take up your time. I know you've told the police everything you know, but sometimes even the smallest detail can help. Anything about Janice's social life can help us find out more about her killer."

There was a quick intake of breath from Mrs. Pickenson. Her husband squeezed her hand. Hotch thought it was for comfort, but something flicked behind Mr. Pickenson's eyes like anger. It was as if the man was mad at his wife for being upset. He turned to the agents. "I don't know what two tell you two gentlemen. Janice was a school athlete, not a star because she did not work hard enough but she was getting there. She played the viola. Her teacher had started calling her a prodigy, she was very good." This seemed to bring some pride to the man's face. "Her youth orchestra is the best in the state. One of the top runners in the northeast as well. She participated in some concerts at school, accompanying the choir. She didn't have a boyfriend. She and her last boyfriend broke up because he was heading for college. They've continued to talk but there are no other young men in her life."

Gideon nodded. "Was your daughter close with the other two girls?"

Mrs. Pickenson looked to her husband before answering. "Samantha had been around once or twice. I've seen her mother at the school concerts. The girl was always polite. As for the other girl, Elizabeta? I only know her from the concerts. She and Janice don't-didn't see eye to eye over things. You know how high school is. Girls will be girls." She looked down at her hands.

The agents watched a slow tear fall down the woman's perfect cheek. They both stood giving their condolences to the parents and headed out the door.

* * *

Reid and J.J. had been sent to the Collins' residence. The Collins' house was as impressive as the Pickeson's but there was a difference. The décor was just as impressive as the Pickenson's but the furniture was more comfortable and you had to call this a home, not just a house. They welcomed the agents in giving them coffee and offering them to help in anyway they could.

J.J. held her mug in both hands. "Mr. and Mrs. Collins-"

Mrs. Collins interrupted. "Please, Katrina and Dorian would suffice."

J.J. nodded. "Of course. If you could just repeat to us what you told to the police and anything you may remember."

Reid leaned forward. "The police ask about what you remember about that day. We want to know what you can tell us about Elizabeta."

Dorian smiled. "She was our little girl. What can we say? She wasn't interested in playing an instrument, but she sang. She had a beautiful voice and we could not ask for more. Her cousins would play and she and her oldest cousin, Selene, would sing. She was in AVE, took private lessons, she was applying for scholarships." He stopped clearing his throat. "I'm sorry."

J.J. gave them a small smile. "You seem to be handling this very well. I'm sure Elizabeta would be happy about that."

Katrina nodded, tears in her eyes. "We have our faith. Faith that she's better off and faith you will catch the man that did this."

Reid shifted in his seat. "Did Elizabeta have a boyfriend?"

Dorian nodded. "Yes. Kevin D'Amico. Very nice boy, he wouldn't have anything to do with this." He shook his head. "Kevin wouldn't lay a hand on Elizabeta. He's taking this extremely hard." He looked at the agents, pain showing in his eyes. "He bought Elizabeta a promise ring. He asked our permission first. He loved her more than anything."

J.J. spoke up. "We're not saying he did. We do not believe anyone the girls were close with did this. We just want to see if there is some sort of pattern. Check social circles. The more we cover, the more we can find out." She stood, Reid following suit. "Thank you for your time. We'll be in contact." She handed them a card. "If there's anything you can think of just give me a call at anytime."

* * *

Morgan and Emily sat across from Mrs. Vasquez at her large oak kitchen table. She had welcomed them into her apartment. It was large, but than again, what penthouses weren't?

Emily and Morgan both accepted graciously looking around at the pictures. Pictures of the family when Mr. Vasquez was still alive. School pictures and everything in between.

Morgan turned to Mrs. Vasquez who was making coffee. "You're son, Brian, is in college correct? He's not staying with you?"

She had set the steaming mugs in front of the agents before sitting down. "Brian should be home this afternoon." She cleared her throat. "He goes to school in Denver now. It's been hard to get out of there, with the blizzards and all. He was here for the wake and the funeral." She cleared her throat again, trying to regain her strength. "I don't know what else to tell you I haven't told the police. She occasionally goes out late. Either to the movies, a mall, or club. Never during the week, always the weekend. My hours at work have been a bit odd lately, so we miss each other sometimes. I know that doesn't sound like the best parenting, but it's not like it sounds. We have dinner together at least three times a week, we talk about everything. She doesn't..." She searched her mug before continuing. "She didn't have a boyfriend. She and her ex, Joshua, broke up a few weeks ago. It was for the best and they both agreed on it. They still talked. She was so excited for the Virginia trip. She had been bringing the music to her voice coach to go over every once in a while." She bit her lip a few tears falling down her face. "She was my little girl, agents. I know you can't really call a seventeen year old a little girl, but she was." She lifted her head up, strength behind her eyes. "Catch the son of a bitch who did this."

Morgan took the woman's hand in his. "I promise you, we will find this man. He will not slip through the system. Your daughter's killer will be brought to justice. Samantha will not be forgotten. I promise."

* * *

The agents met back at the hotel they were staying at all around a large conference room table.

J.J. had set up the crime scene pictures on a corkboard on the furthest wall. "Well there's not obvious connection I see. Besides going to the same school."

Gideon had a finger pressed against his lips staring at the photos. "What did we learn from talking to the parents?"

Hotch grunted. "That the Pickensons are assholes?" He noted the shocked look on his co-workers faces. "I'm sorry but anyone who response without real emotion to their child's death is not a person. Mr. Pickenson seemed more disappointed in his daughter than angry about her death."

Reid looked thoughtful. "Mr. and Mrs. Collins were more accepting. They said they had faith she was better off and they had faith in us."

Gideon nodded. "Some put up defenses, some turn to religion." He nodded to Morgan and Emily. "Your mother responded they way most would. Still using present tense and showed anger. Nothing any guilty parents would show."

Emily spoke. "Only one had a boyfriend. None of the parents were worried about their daughter's disappearance at first. Janice Pickenson had gotten into an argument with her father and had taken her jeep. Mrs. Pickenson believes she had driven off to New York to go stay with one of her sisters, or just go into the city. She never answered her phone if she went off angry. The parents knew something was wrong when she didn't show up Monday after school.

Elizabeta was supposed to go to Maine with her boyfriend to go snowboarding. They were going to meet each other up there but when she didn't show up, he called her parents. They tried her cell phone a few times, but it went straight to voicemail. They believed she didn't have service and figured she had gotten a late start, possibly stopping at a friend's house before driving up. They waited the full twenty-four before calling her in missing."

Morgan sighed. "Mrs. Vasquez said Samantha was always out. But she always checked in. She knew something was wrong when she wasn't at dinner Sunday night. She knew they hadn't just missed each other."

Reid looked at the police reports. "It says all the vehicles were found at school."

J.J. nodded. "The groundskeepers said they were there when he arrived Monday morning. The security guard doesn't show up until 7:30. The grounds keeper was there around quarter to seven. He thought that maybe someone thought there was a track meet. Then he found the bodies."

Morgan sighed. "Defiantly not the way to start the day."

* * *

"Friday. This is the day the girls were taken." Gideon walked around the computer lab back at our Lady of Sorrows. "We have undercover cops stationed around throughout the day. We don't know for sure if he will strike today. He may have a different cycle. It could be every other week. A number of things. He might have specific girls selected."

There was a banging at the door and Reid jumped up to open it. Marena rushed in her face white. "I didn't have a number to contact you. Luci and I have new news on this. It's not good."

* * *

**A/N:**

**So this story is being alerted and still no reviews. Joy.**

**Nevertheless, I am too bored not to write this.**

**Let's see if anyone likes it enough to take a few seconds to leave a review.**

**Remember flames are as welcome as regular reviews.**

**Well why not thank the those who have alerted the story?:**

**recklesskellie**

**lallyb1743**

**SpencerRied**


	5. Infinity

**Disclaimer: I own nada. Seriously, look in my wallet and this is what you will find:**

**$15, a Lord & Taylor gift card (which I use on family since I don't shop there), an expired Sally's membership card, American Eagle card, Hot Topic gift card ( in there for at least a year), school ID, monthly train pass, Barnes and Nobel gift card, and a membership card to The Body Shop... **

**In other words, I own nothing that will help you.**

**(Read A/N at the end of story.)**

* * *

_There was a banging at the door and Reid jumped up to open it. Marena rushed in her face white. "I didn't have a number to contact you. Luci and I have new news on this. It's not good." _

* * *

Gideon looked over Marena's shoulder. "Where is she?"

Marena leaned against the wall. "She's coming from the train right now. She said she had a problem. Her bag probably ripped open." She shook her head. "I don't know why she doesn't just drive. She has her license, and full range of a car."

"Because I don't feel like paying for gas, and I'm slightly lazy."

The agents and Marena turned around to see Luci standing in the doorway with split lip and a red spot beneath her eye.

"Luci! What-"

Luci held up her hand stopping Marena who had leaned over to check the damage. "Not the problem at the moment. It's nothing." She looked at the agents. "Did Marena tell you what we found?"

Marena folded her arms. "I was waiting for you." She turned back to the agents. "We had a wake to go to last night. On the casket, there were a few chaddagh designs as well as other Celtic symbols. Nothing unexpected at an Irish wake. Then we were talking to one of the women who told us that, yes, the claddaghs were placed there because he was Irish. But there was another reason."

Luci leaned against the railing that overlooked the computer lab. "It's a symbol for protecting the dead. A bit of an old folk tale about binding the dead to the ground. So they wouldn't come back up. I did some research on it and there are a number of people who did this to their dead. Most people know the Egyptians had the ankh on many sarcophagi or panted on a piece of scroll buried with the body. Many symbols could have been used that had a special meaning to the dead."

"However there were no records of the symbols every being painted directly on the body." Marena sighed. "Trust us. We searched everywhere."

Emily shook her head. "So the UNSUB made a mistake. I don't understand what you're getting at."

Gideon stood up grabbing his jacket. "He didn't make a mistake."

Luci shook her head. "These girls were the binding symbols. There are more bodies."

* * *

J.J. was speaking on the phone while Gideon and Hotch had gone off to check the crew that had started to uncover the ground where the bodies had been found. Whenever a murder came up involving children people sprang into action, no questions asked. Emily was in the office with the principle checking the records of the girls who had called in sick or had not shown up for school. Morgan was speaking with Garcia, having her check for any missing girls in the area. Reid was sitting next to him watching the two girls arguing a few seats from him.

Luci was batting Marena's hand away from the spot beneath her eye. "Quit it. I am perfectly fine. Just give me some cover-up if you have it. I cannot go to class like this without being sent to guidance. Then I'll lose my temper and say something stupid."

"Fine, but damn it, what happened to you? You can't have pissed someone off this early in the morning. Even for you that would be a miracle. This is exactly why you should drive." Marena looked at her friend sternly.

Reid spoke. "You really should drive. You might be safer driving than taking the train right now. Although the amount of people on the train may be in your favor..." He let his words trail off with the look Morgan gave him and the smirk on the young girls' faces.

Garcia looked from her screen only now seeing the younger girl's face. "Oh! Baby girl. What happened to you?" She turned her eyes to Morgan. "Nice to see you guys keep an eye out."

"It was at the train station. It's no one's fault but my own." Luci shrugged. "Met up with my ex boyfriend. You would think after over two years he'd give up."

Morgan looked at her. "This usually happens?"

Luci shook her head. "Hell no. He followed me on the train from New Haven here. We had a slight argument about how he thought we should get back together. We broke up because I found out he had another girlfriend. I mean we still talked and all but then, recently, he started talking about wanting a relationship again. Now he's acting pissy. All because I'm happy and in a good relationship and he's not. Apparently girls his own age turn him down." She pointed to the small bruise and lip. "He grabbed my arm after I told him to leave me alone. I was a bit surprised he would try grabbing me so I didn't expect it. Trust me. He was in worse condition when I left him." She gave a short laugh. "That and the woman who was calling the police was aiming mace at him. She had an itchy trigger finger." She shrugged it off. "I don't exactly date the most stable people in the world."

Marena had been talking quietly into her phone while Luci explained herself to Morgan and the others. She handed Luci her phone. "Murphy wants to talk to you."

Luci's eyes widened. "You didn't!" She grimaced at the phone and walked away.

Reid watched the girl trying to calm down the person on the other end of the phone. "Who's Murphy?"

Marena sighed. "Luci's boyfriend. Been together for two years and he's the best thing to happen to her. If Luci's too lazy to drive herself to school Murphy's going to take care of it."

Morgan spoke. "What's with this ex-boyfriend?" he turned to the computer as if ready to type in a name.

Marena sighed. "John. He's got a few screws loose. He's a sophomore in college a few towns away. Don't bother thinking he might be your killer. He's not smart enough to understand the symbols that your UNSUB uses." She took the phone from Luci, who had walked back over, and handed her cover up. "Well?"

Luci sighed looking at her reflection in the small mirror. "Murphy's picking me up after school. I just spent that time convincing him he did not need to take me to the hospital. He's going to be like a mother hen now. But thanks. I don't feel like taking the train home and I would prefer not to freak anyone out at home and ask for a ride. Mind you he's probably got half of his army ready to kill John." She turned back to Morgan, Reid, and Garcia. "Okay. So this information may change your profile. Not a lot of work has been done concerning the school grounds. I think someone might notice upturned earth in the back. Than again maybe not. No one really goes back there."

Marena nodded. "It's not impossible. I mean if it had been during vacation or something. We've had a mild vacation."

Garcia brought up pictures on the screen. "The only people missing from Connecticut over your break." The three faces showed two women in their mid thirties. Both had the haggard look of woman who had had a tough life and were looking for a new start. Possibly ran off hoping to create a new identity to make themselves more presentable. It wasn't such a bad idea, as long as you didn't take into consideration running was an offense. The third was a man in his mid-forties. Instead of MISSING, his poster read, WANTED. Beneath his name, it proclaimed he was possibly running to avoid paying child support. Nice guy. "Nothing that would come up as your bodies. Nothing over the Thanksgiving break either."

Gideon walked back over. "Marena, Luci. What did these girls have in common?"

Marena looked at him. "Well all the symbols-"

He shook his head. "Not the symbols. I mean personal lives, social circles, classes. Something that's obvious." He stared down at the girl's school pictures. "There's something here that's too obvious that we overlooked it."

Luci's eyes moved back and forth as if searching her head for information. "Nothing relating to the families. They grew up in different areas. One didn't have both parents, another was an only child. They didn't really go in the same circles. I mean everyone connects somehow here, but you can still try to stay away. As for classes, they were in different levels. AP, Honors, CP1, and CP2, they covered the whole spectrum. The only teacher they had in common would be our music director I suppose."

Gideon looked between the girls. "Janice Pickenson's mother kept mentioning concerts?"

Marena nodded. "Our choir concerts. Janice didn't sing but she played the viola in accompaniment. She was in the school orchestra. There are only about ten people in it but they are talented. As for the concerts, people come from all over. Some schools come and see if any of the girls apply for a music scholarship."

Morgan turned. "Do people have to show ID to get into these concerts?"

Luci shook her head. "No. There are some held at the school and others we sometimes travel to community centers to sing. Sometimes benefits. We did one at an insurance firm a few weeks ago to help fund the trip to Jamestown. No one really worries about ID. Plus people that come concerning scholarships don't want to be singled out. They want everyone to act and sing as they usually do. No need to put on a new pressure and introduce themselves." She paused. "You don't really think that's the connection? "

Gideon nodded. "They dug up some ground. Looks like there's a small ring of bodies."

Marena's face paled. "How many?"

Gideon shook his head. "We're not sure yet. It's not a regular circle or ring. Only two of the recent bodies match the position of the first kills."

Something flicked behind Luci's eyes. She stood up and walked to the whiteboard everyone was facing. Even Garcia watched from her computer screen. She made the top half of a figure eight. "Was it like this?"

Hotch walked over with a large glassy photo in his hand. "We had someone take an aerial shot Gideon." He looked up at the whiteboard noticing what everyone was looking at. His eyes flicked to his paper and back at the symbol. "How did you know?"

Luci turned blank eyes to Marena handing her the marker. "Infinity," she whispered.

Marena walked over drawing a figure eight on its side. "This is the symbol of infinity." She turned back to the agents. "He's not done. He's binding his past murders. He's not going to stop until every one of them is laid to rest."

* * *

**A/N: **

**Another chapter done. This seems like a good place to stop.**

**So as much as I like this little story of mine I had midterms. Now that does not mean I cannot make time. I just choose not to.**

**This is chapter 5. Still only one review. Therefore, until there is a change in the review status there will not be any updates.**

**People have written far less than I have and have received a much greater number of reviews.**

**I see the continuous hits. Obviously, someone must like this.**

**It does not take much time to submit a review. Really it doesn't.**


	6. Profile Part Duex

**Disclaimer: I own nadda. As usual.**

**Officially, I'm done with exams tomorrow and I'm happy. And if it doesn't snow, someone will very likely die.**

**I'm fully aware it's short. But I updated at least.**

**I only own my own characters.**

* * *

_Marena walked over drawing a figure eight on its side. "This is the symbol of infinity." She turned back to the agents. "He's not done. He's binding his past murders. He's not going to stop until every one of them is laid to rest."_

* * *

Gideon stood before the police and detectives for the second time this week. "New profile. In light of the recent discoveries we have a new profile."

One of the officers groaned. "We're back to square one?"

Hotch strode forward shaking his head. "Not quite. He's still a white male the main thing that has changed is his age. Instead of late teens to early twenties, we're looking at mid twenties to mid thirties. He was active in the area and may have faded back in the last five years or so. He's deeply involved in the arts, primarily music both vocal and instrumental. He might try passing himself off as a music critic."

Gideon nodded all through this and spoke up when Hotch finished. "Above all he has a god-like complex. He feels you owe him for taking up his time." He shook his head. "He didn't kill these girls because he loved them. He was using them as binders for his original killings. These first girls? He killed them out of a mix of passion and jealously. If he's killing girls now to clear his conscience and keep his first victims safe he obviously knew them. Once we have IDs, look through the missing person's interviews. You'll defiantly have interviewed this man. When this started, he was just your regular concerned citizen. Helped out on the search, maybe even instated a fund." He paused. "More importantly he'll work in a church. Either as a lecturer or possibly an alter server."

With that, Gideon walked out the door, Hotch and the other agents close at his heels.

* * *

Gideon, Reid, and J.J. sat in a small coffee shop near the school waiting for their symbol experts.

J.J. moved slightly from their booth in the far corner to look out the window. "I think they're here."

Gideon and Reid strained their necks to look out the large glass window at two cars pulling in. One was a black VW Golf. The other a black Mini Cooper with a large '8' on the side to make it look like a pool ball. Marena got out of the golf while Luci and Christine moved out of the Mini.

The door chimed as they entered. They placed in their drink orders saying hi to the people behind the counter before heading to the booth.

Marena scooted to the corner with Christine in the middle and Luci on the end. Once they were situated, she took out a piece of paper covered in symbols and written notes. "So these are the symbols we've found." She pointed to the three small symbols situated on the large infinity sign. "All are connected to the infinity sign."

Christine took the paper and grabbed a pink marker circling each of the symbols. "All these symbols have shown love and femininity. There's just one minor thing." She took out a blue marker and drew three circles opposite every pink one. To the left there was a pink circle on top, resting on the curve of the infinity loop with a blue circle mirroring it below. To the right there was a blue circle on top with a pink one mirroring it on the bottom. In the middle, Christine had intertwined the two circles. "The infinity symbol states balance. It was a math symbol so, addition and subtraction."

Marena nodded. "Multiplication and division."

Luci took the paper. "And more importantly masculine and feminine."

Gideon's phone rang and he excused himself to answer it.

J.J. sighed. "This is a nightmare."

Christine sighed. "Not exactly how we hoped to help out in investigations. Not when they were people we knew."

J.J. gave the girls a smile. "I'm sure you girls would rather be doing a hundred other things today rather than being here."

Marena shrugged. "It's my day off but my boyfriend doesn't get off till this afternoon. We'll catch a movie later. Nothing much else to do."

Christine smiled. "I rearranged my room last night and talked on the phone with Tom all night."

Luci rolled her eyes. "Ah, Tom's back in the picture I see. I think you owe me money on this one."

Christine grumbled handing her the money. "Psychic loser."

Reid raised an eyebrow. "Psychic?"

Luci just smiled. "Nothing like it sounds. I just happen to be greatly empathetic. I can stop out emotions for a mile away. Not always for myself but I can tell people who are attracted to each other and when someone is lying. A bit like what you do, but mine isn't based on nervous twitches or anything, although that helps." She smiled at J.J. than back to Reid. "So how long have you two been seeing each other outside of work?"

Reid's eyes widened a bit while J.J. looked taken aback. As a PR, she usually didn't show herself shocked very much. "How did you-"

Luci just laughed. "It's a natural talent. Doesn't really help me in anyway but it's a fun little parlor trick."

Gideon walked back over with their drinks, his face slightly tighter than before. "They IDed three bodies so far." He looked at the paper and back to the girls. "Two were male. Disappeared six years ago from your brother school. They were in the same youth orchestra, so was the third body, female. All from Milford."  
Marena sighed taking a sip of her coffee. "He doesn't even have a location pattern."

Christine started doodling on the paper then stopped looking at Luci. "Uh, Luci."

Luci looked over the paper and took a pen out of her hair, drawing out a treble staff on the other side. She held the paper up to the light so that the circles bled through the other side onto the treble staff. They fit onto the treble staff and the infinity symbol perfectly. Luci turned her face to Gideon. "You said he works at a church? Look for the choir director." She looked back down at the paper. "Side note. He's extremely emotional; don't be too surprised if he burst into tears if you mention the girls." She noticed Christine and Marena starting at her. "What?"

Marena shook her head. "Trying to tell them how to do their job?"

Luci rolled her eyes. "Trying to let them know this guy is going to look like he'll break down a lot easier than he will." She pointed to the paper. "What does this tell you?"

Marena took another sip of coffee. "It tells me not only is he a choir director he also runs a youth group."

Christine smiled. "Because it's one of the few church functions where there's both female and male interaction. In addition, it gives him a full view to listen to these kids sing and play their instruments. Even gave him an alibi to see them whenever. He was probably in youth group with them when he was younger. He kept active in church, making it look like his faith grew when all the disappearances occurred. He probably comforted the families and held vigils."

Reid looked thoughtful. "Are you trying to say he's some kind of vigilante? He punished these original victims then felt bad afterward?"

Marena looked at her friends. "Just the opposite. He killed them because he saw them as a gift to god. The sooner they died; the sooner god could listen and enjoy them himself."

J.J. was intrigued. "So why not simple Christian symbols?"

Luci's lips twitched. "He's a theologist. He found different ways to pray and revere different gods. He's using every religion he can think of to revere his god in every possible way."

Gideon looked exhausted but allowed himself a small smile. "Now I understand why Morgan has been referring to you three as the Reidettes." His smile slowly fell and he stood. "As nice as this has been we still have a killer to find." He paused turning to the girls. "Where does he live?"

Christine was taken aback. "But you're the profiler."

Marena smiled. "He already knows. He's testing us."

Christine's lips made an O. "Right. Well you said the first three victims were from Milford. So, if they went to the same church you are looking at someone who lived in Milford at the time of the disappearances defiantly. As for where he lives now?" Her eyes flicked to Luci who nodded to her encouragingly. "He still lives in Milford. Works at the same parish. Can probably tell you every detail about the original disappearances and the people themselves. He will elaborate on how musically gifted they were. He's defiantly still in the same area. Never left for college. Maybe did some night classes, or just took online courses, but never went away for long."

Gideon smiled. "I think we have to start recruiting in Connecticut. They train the girls very well here."

Marena laughed. "It's the nutmeg."

* * *

**A/N:**

**Okay apology time. I know I'm looking a bit like an ass for not getting reviews but I will explain myself. I've been under a lot of stress lately and adding to that I've had exams and that doesn't exactly light my mood. In fact, I wrote four pages to answer questions for a religion exam, which was a load of bullshit seeing as the fact our teacher grades us on whether or not he approves of us. Which I guess is good as long as I answer any annoying questions in class.**

**Anyway, things are starting to lighten up so I'll start this up again.**

**I didn't only stop writing because of the lack of reviews; I just wanted to make that clear.**

**So thanks to my other reviewer:**

**Mystic01: Hope you accept my little apology. I know it's short but I thought a little update was better than none.**


	7. Silent Singing

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. I don't own much. Although I do now have more money in my wallet. Which is being saved instead of buying dinner.**

**Yeah…I need to go grocery shopping.**

* * *

_Gideon smiled. "I think we have to start recruiting in Connecticut. They train the girls very well here."_

_Marena laughed. "It's the nutmeg."_

* * *

"Gideon. There are fifteen churches in Milford." Morgan's voice sounded slightly more strained than usual.

Gideon shrugged in his seat looking over at Hotch. "Yeah Morgan. What's the problem?"

"Two girls skipped school Thursday." Morgan sighed. "They never came back home and their cell's are going straight to voicemail."

Gideon froze for a moment. "The teams are split already. I want the numbers of the churches. I want to know if they have youth groups or choirs." He clicked off the phone and turned to Hotch. "Today's Saturday. The ME said the girls died somewhere between late Saturday night and early Sunday morning." He looked at the time on the dash and shook his head. "We're running out of time."

* * *

Gideon genuflected and walked up the aisle of the church facing the man before him. "Mr. Daniels?"

The man turned to face him giving him a kind smile and nod of acknowledgement. He was dressed in full uniform of a priest. "Actually it's Father Daniels. What can I do for you?"

"_Above all he has a god-like complex." _Parts of the profile floated in Gideon's head. God-like complex. Ironic.

Gideon looked around at the church listening to singing, but not seeing a soul. "That signing is beautiful, where is it coming from?"

Fr. Daniels smiled pointed to the small boom box near the alter next to cleaning supplies. "Some of my old choir music. Helps me move faster when I clean."

Gideon nodded. "You direct the choir?"

Fr. Daniels nodded. "I used to. We haven't had a real choir in a few years now. Sometimes we get those wonderful girls from Our Lady of Sorrows to sing during the holidays."

Gideon tilted his head. "Your youth group doesn't sing?"

Fr. Daniels sighed looking sad. "We're lucky we have enough children to keep a real youth group. Children split between churches either because of divorces or because of sports. We never really got full support after that incident."

"First incident?"

Fr. Daniels pointed to the newspaper next to Gideon on the pew. "Those bodies that were uncovered? They were all in the youth group at this church back in the day." He gave a sigh. "I knew them. Good people. Many left the church out of fear because of the disappearances the first time. I can only imagine what our attendance will be like now." He shook his head. "I'll still be here. I stood by the church the first time; I will stay here this time. The church has always been here, people need to realize we will always be here when they need us."

_He kept active in church, making it look like his faith grew when all the disappearances occurred._

"You said you knew the people personally?"

The priest nodded again now polishing a candlestick in his hand. "Yes, we all grew up in the area. All in the youth group here." A soprano voice came out of the speakers singing elegantly. The priest pointed to the boom box. "In fact that's Anita Way. One of the girls that disappeared. I'm guessing her body will be found shortly. Voice like an angel." He gave a soft smile. "God has a plan for everyone. He calls some of his children early and others late."

_He killed them because he saw them as a gift to god. The sooner they died; the sooner god could listen and enjoy them himself.  
_Gideon pressed a button on his cell phone clipped to his belt. "Father Daniels did you know any of the girls that died recently?"

The priest slowly wiped the candlestick looking at Gideon. "Only from the performances at the school. They were talented. Nothing like the boys and girls that were taken to heaven first." He was slowly backing up. "Is there something you actually need my son?"

Gideon laughed. "Sir, you could be my son."

The priest flung the candlestick at him and turned to run, bumping into Morgan who grabbed him by his upper arms cuffing him. "Where are they?"

Fr. Daniels howled. "You cannot do this! These girls are nothing. They do not have the talent of Anita Way." He fell to the floor sobbing out names. "Brian Jericho. Jacob Dallas. Jennifer Conair. Kelly St. Peter. Fabian Vulcan. Heather McCabe. They were true angels." He turned his tear stained face to the agents, all of whom now stood around him. "They wanted to be angels. They were chosen. God told me they were chosen. He wanted his children back. Their talents were being wasted here, on this plane."

Morgan and Hotch yanked the man up forcing him out the door into the outside light.

Emily turned to Gideon. "But where are the girls."

Gideon looked at Reid. "You know."

Reid's eyes scanned the church. He flew to the back running up the back stairs, closely followed by the others. Beneath a rusted organ, two girls were tied together. On was dressed in a rich purple robe, while the other held struggled in blue cloth wrapped light a straight jacket. J.J. and Emily quickly bent down untying them as the girl's gages were taken out. They cried holding on tightly to the two female agents.

* * *

The team stayed an extra week holding a short workshop for the Milford police. They were there when the other bodies were uncovered and watched at they were finally properly laid to rest. It was one of the first times in a while they could stay around and watch the aftermath of what they had helped solve.

Friday came along and Morgan, Reid, and J.J. drove to a football game in the next town. They would be leaving in the morning but had a few goodbyes to make. The game had just ended as they spotted Christine leaning by the fence with Marena and a boy they did not recognize. The boy saw the agents gave Marena a quick kiss saying something about starting the car. Luci was a short distance away giving a kiss to football player that seemed to tower over her. They exchanged a few words and a hug as he headed over with the rest of the team celebrating on the field.

Morgan smiled as she walked over. "Captain of the football team?"

Luci smiled. "Hey even a geek can be happy." She winked at Reid.

Christine opened her bag taking out small boxes. "We have some presents for you."

J.J. smiled. "Oh you don't have to. We wanted to thank you for helping us."

Marena handed out the boxes. "And we wanted to thank you for including us and not overlooking us just because we're teenagers. We figured it would be appropriate to give you our kind of gifts."

Christine nodded. "There's a gift for everyone, Ms. Garcia too."

They girls gave each of the agents a hug.

Luci smiled. "We are symbols, and inhabit symbols."

"Emerson." Reid responded before he could stop himself.

J.J. smiled at him. "You know now I see what Morgan's been talking about."

Marena stepped back smiling at the agents. "If you're every around, just for pleasure, stop by."

Christine nodded smiling. "You know where to find us."

* * *

On the plane back to Quantico, the agents opened their small presents smiling. All had been given a little talisman on a key ring accompanied by a thank you note and quote.

Reid had gone around reading all the quotes and committed them to memory. He smiled. "They gave us profiler quotes. I have this one on my desk back at the office. 'Every natural fact is a symbol of some spiritual fact.' It's by Emerson."

Morgan gave a laugh. "'Common sense is not so common.'"

Reid nodded. "Voltaire."

The younger agents went back and forth talking about the quotes and the descriptions of the presents the girls had given them.

Hotch sat down across from Gideon trying to get a look into his box. "You're smiling."

Gideon turned from the window, holding up his key chain. From the tip, the Eye of Providence glinted in the early morning light. "For keeping watch over mankind and keeping them safe. Even from themselves."

Hotch smiled holding up his own key chain. On the loop, the Om symbol swung gently. "It seems they thought I needed to relax." He looked at one of the notes from his small box reading from it. "'What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult. Sigmund Freud.'

He looked back at Gideon. "You know, if they turn their minds to evil we'll be in a lot of trouble."

Gideon smiled looking back out the window at the clouds passing by thinking of the note the girls have given him.

'_All credibility, all good conscience, all evidence of truth comes only from the senses.'_

_-__Friedrich Nietzsche_

* * *

**A/N:**

**Fully aware this while fan fic was short but I hope whoever read it enjoyed it.**

**Thanks to:**

**Mabelreid**

**And**

**Mystic01**


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